Nelson Star/West Kootenay Advertiser, October 25, 2013

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Friday, October 25 • 2013

Vol. 6 • Issue 2

Nobel winner connected to Nelson See Page 5

Seniors to get special bus service Page 9 Not going to partner with police

280 Baker Street Nelson BC (250)

Health car plan nixed

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A real cut up

Tashi Augenschmaus and Fernanda Reyes have fun with some stage props outside the Capitol Theatre on Tuesday. The theatre was selling off some unwanted items from its prop room. Among the offerings were coffins, fake cakes, and other odd decorations from sets of past theatre productions. Sam Van Schie photo Laura Salmon Cell 250-551-8877

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Investigation into assault

Nelson Star Staff

An assault on one of their mental health workers in Nelson earlier this month has Interior Health investigating the incident. “Interior Health is taking this very seriously and will be working closely with WorkSafe BC on investigating what took place,” said IH communications officer Karl Hardt. The incident took place on October 10 around 2:30 p.m. when 33-year-old Douglas Andrew Tilley approached the victim outside

the provincial building in Nelson’s downtown. He began yelling and ranting at the victim. Before he had a chance to respond, Tilley punched and kicked him repeatedly. A witness stopped the assault and the man, known to police, fled. Police found Tilley soon afterwards and he was jailed pending a court appearance last week. Tilley pleaded guilty and was given a six-month sentence and two years’ probation.

HIPPERSON HARDWARE 395 Baker Street 250.352.5517

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Mental health staff says they were previously threatened and had concerns for their safety that they feel went unaddressed. Hardt says IH was working on the situation. “When we were made aware of the initial threats to our staff, we informed staff and contacted police immediately,” he said. “We do have a policy in place regarding violence prevention — it is posted on our public site under workplace health and safety policies.”

Interior Health has decided not to partner with Nelson Police Department to create a dedicated mental health car aimed at keeping people with mental illness out of hospital emergency rooms and jail cells. Nelson Police Chief Wayne Holland has been calling for the creation of a dedicated mental health car — staffed by a constable and a psychiatric nurse — since he joined the local department two and a half years ago. He says the project would have been nearly cost neutral and had tremendous support from community leaders. But he needed Interior Health’s blessing to have one of their nurses involved in the pilot project. “It’s very disappointing to have one key stakeholder stand in the way of us going ahead with this,” Holland said, noting it took two years for Interior Heath to get back to him with their decision. “We are completely ready to go with this and could have had it up and operating right away. “We thought, at the very least, we’d be able to use that as a transitional initiative until Interior Health is able to role out a more permanent, long term solution.” The Vancouver Police Department, where Holland worked before coming to Nelson, has been running a mental health car with great success since the mid1980s. But Cheryl Whittleton, Interior Health’s community integrated health services administrator, isn’t sure it would be successful here. “The lower mainland car — I know it’s successful, I know it works, but it’s a bigger population base,” Whittleton said. Interior Health started its own mental health car pilot project in Kamloops less than a year ago and wants to wait and evaluate that project before it will consider rolling them out in other communities. Whittleton had no estimate of how long that might take. In the meantime, she said Nelson already has support workers based out of local shelters and at the

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Nelson Star/West Kootenay Advertiser, October 25, 2013 by Black Press Media Group - Issuu